Craig Finn - Clear Heart Full Eyes

“There’s something in how well you tell the story” asserts The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn on ‘Clear Heart Full Eyes’’ second track ‘When No One’s Watching’, and he should know. Unquestionably one of the finest lyricists of his generation (don't argue with that, just give THS’ ‘Boys And Girls In America’ another spin), this record is the result of Finn turning his hand to songwriting for the very first time and, yes, he’s nailed it. It helps, of course, that he’s assembled a stellar backing band, who provide an intricate, understated, and richly elegant backdrop to Finn’s fabulous wordplay, elevating the record from the level of pure musical enjoyment to an experience in and of itself.